29 June 2007

I met Lloyd, Robin, and their two sons, Alex and Blake this morning at 0600. We departed Galvez Ramp, on the search for Trout. Our first stop held a few fish, we caught three (two shorts and this fish of Blake's).



























The bite was slow and timid so we moved to catch some pinfish for the Pass. Got our baits and made one more drift that proved futile; on to the Pass.

The bite was slow here too, but Alex found a legal Grouper to add to our Trout. I ran into Capt Matt and Capt Chris who told us that the mackerel bite was slow as well; and that's where we were headed next !!! Oh well... we went anyway.



























Sure enough the bite was so slow as not to be a bite at all. We trolled for 30 min. with one hit and a barely scarred bait. Snapper fishing it was ...

On our way we passed a baby Sea Turtle, no bigger than a dinner plate, unfortunately the little booger wouldn't stay still long enough for a pic. We got located on a nice public wreck just 5.5 miles from the Pass. The Snapper bite there was good, just all a bunch of shorts. We did boat a really nice Mangrove (black) Snapper that was just over 6lbs. A nice fish to end the morning and begin the scenic ride back to the dock.












Thank you again Lloyd, Robin, Alex, and Blake for a fun morning. I hope we get to do it again sometime.

26 June 2007

Met Jim , his son, Jeff and Jeff's two kids, Taylor and Seth at Shoreline Park at 0600. Jim lives here and Jeff has brought his family to visit for the week, along with their boat. Today's agenda included showing Jeff some things he could do with his family the rest of the week.

I began by showing them a few places that they could Trout fish early in the morning, then we headed to the Pass where I showed them how to drift for Redfish. It was a few drifts before both Taylor and Seth were hooked up to a double. Seths, a nice grouper, Taylors, a redfish, in the form of a 7lb, 27" beauty.

Satisfied that they could do this themselves, we went to the bait boat for a big scoop of live cigar minnows. We baited our lines as we neared the sea buoy and set out three swimmers to find us a King Mackerel. A school of Bonito rose to the surface yards away, and after several unsuccessful attempts, Jeff lands a hefty fish. Then came the mackerel! We caught seven over the course of an hour and a half or so, all on 12lb tackle! The kids did a great job handling the speeding fish.

With little time left for us to fish we decided to hit a public snapper hole just a couple of miles away. We arrived to find Capt Tony already anchored there; so we fished as close as comfortable for both boats. Tony said that the bite had slowed considerably, but we still managed to lose a few baits. Even put a nice snapper in the box to finish out the trip ... well almost!!!

En route to the pass, just around the sea buoy, the propeller hub decided it was tired of holding on and just let go! I was able to maintain a top speed of 7.5 mph ( better than zero ). Needless to say, it was a looong ride back to Shoreline. We arrived back at the pier about an hour and 45 later than we intended, cleaned our catch, and said our salutations. Jeff was excited about the rest of the week, and the kids were ready for a nap!

Thanks again Jim, Jeff, Taylor, and Seth.

P.S. I heard from Jim, he told me that Jeff, his wife and the kids caught a couple Redfish on their own on Thursday! Congratulations, Jeff, nice job!!!

24 June 2007

This morning I met with Jack, his father, "Pops", and nephew, Tyler, for a four hour charter I had given for auction. It's taken Jack and I months and months to finally put this trip together; and it couldn't have turned out better!

0600, left Navy Point ramp headed for the pinfish trap in Big Lagoon. Picked up the trap and just had to make a drift, just one, over a flat for Trout. One drift later and it was to the Pass for us. I was hoping to find the upper slot Redfish like I have been lately...we never caught one.


























However, we did manage to find 4 hungry Red Snapper in the pass. One was short by 1/4", but the other three were the kind you don't find often. The smallest of those was 5lbs and the largest tipped the Boga Grip just over 8lbs (on 12lb tackle)!!!


























With three Snaps in the box we decided to try our hand at the mackerel. We stopped by the bait boat and loaded up with a few dozen baits then turned south for the sea bouy. Once we got to the bouy we started trolling three live baits, two on the surface and one on the downrigger. I just barely got the downrigger set the first time and it got hit! Missed the fish, but it got us excited. Over the next 30-40 min. we put three nice Mackerel in the ice to go with our Snapper. And must have missed or pulled the hooks on at least 7 more fish.

Our time had expired and we made the fast run home; already reliving the mornings events. This will be a trip none of us will soon, if ever, forget. We pulled into the pier at 1010, cleaned our catch, and parted ways, for a time.

Cooler count:
3 Red Snapper
3 Mackerel




Thank you Jack, Pops, and Tyler, for a wonderful morning, I'm glad to have gotten to share it with you.

23 June 2007

The alarm clock sounded at an EARLY 0400. The race to get ahead of the tournament boats vying for parking at Shoreline Park was afoot! I left the house around 0430, scheduled to meet Jeff, T.R., and Christine at 0515. I got a good jump on almost everybody and found the perfect parking spot! Loaded everyone on board and was away from the pier just before 0530, en route to Big Lagoon.

We had an hour or so of tournament free flat to ourselves and utilized the time as best we could. Jeff landed this 3lb fish and soon after T. R. pulled the hook on another fish that size at the boat. They weren't able to take any fish home so all T.R. missed out on was a picture.


























I noticed that Christine was at the height of fishing fashion with her Tommy Hilfiger shoes and I just had to snap a picture and have a laugh.

Seriously ladies, these kinds of footwear pose a BIG hazard aboard the boat. These shoes roll-over easily on a rocking boat and can potentially injure an ankle or a behind, and most definitely your pride. Your guide always appreciates the proper shoes on board. Sandals are fine but thinner soles than these are necessary; closed toe shoes are ALWAYS best. I understand the emotional burden of fishing in ugly shoes, but your experience will be better if you are properly equipped, head to toes.

ONTO THE FISHING...

After catching our trout we proceeded to the Pass in search of Redfish. We were in the middle of our first drift when Capt. Matt and Capt. Chris whistled at us, pointing towards the center of the pass.We sped over, hooks baited, the lines were loosed, and Jeff immediately gets a BIG bite on a live crab and is just as immediately cut off. Just then Matt yells "TARPON, TARPON!!" I looked over towards the beach in time to see a school of 100+ Tarpon rolling just yards from shore! We chased those fish for over two miles, westerly, down the beach throwing EVERYTHING we had at them to no avail. Pinfish, Crabs, Threadfin Herring, Jigs, Spoons, Plugs, Shrimp, nothing even got their attention. After about 200 casts we turned around, happy to have gotten the chance to see such large (lady)fish schooling down the beach.

We made a short run offshore on the slick surface of the Gulf of Mexico in search of a couple snappers. We found a few at our very first stop, including a Lane Snapper that was almost 5lbs. Jeff managed to shorten a rod on a mystery fish and we all missed a few really good bites. The ride back to the ramp was as nice as anyone could have asked for.

Thank you Jeff, T.R., and Christine for a great morning

22 June 2007

I met Garland and his step-son Shane at Galvez Landing at 0600 for a Speckled Trout/ Redfish trip.

We started our morning in Big Lagoon, working over the deep grass with soft plastic jerk-baits and top water poppers. The first stop of the morning produced one nice 17" Trout and a couple more throw-backs. After a few drifts we motored over to pick up the bait trap; and after loading 15-18 Pinfish into the well we were off to try our luck around some area docks, with slow results. We threw back a fish or two and made the quick run to the area that held the big Trout I caught with the boys last weekend.

In the middle of our second drift it happened again. Shane's morning had been slow, Garland releasing most of the small fish earlier. Shane had been pretty quiet all day and even a WELL bent rod didn't part his lips. I looked up to see him white knuckled onto the rod. "Looks like a better fish", I told him and he quickly agreed. Once I got sight of the fish I was floored, another nearly 4lb Trout! We boated the fish with high fives all around, it tipping the scale at 3.75lbs.


























One more drift and we decided to try for our redfish so to the Pass we went.

In the middle of our second drift in the Pass and its FISH ON!! Again Shane hooks the fish and doesn't say a word until we notice him, silently struggling to tame the running fish. Shane subdued a perfect 6+lb slot Red that we added to the live well.



























Our time ended for the morning, we ran back to the ramp , cleaned our fish and said our fair-wells until our next opportunity to fish together comes around.

Thank you Garland and Shane, I had a great time cutting up with you two. I can't remember the last time that I laughed for 5 straight hours!!!

17 June 2007 Fathers Day

Yesterday I promised Cam we could go fishing, just him and I.

Fathers Day dinner was scheduled for 1830; so Cam and I decided to go over a little early and head out into the pond to catch some Bass and Bluegill before dinner. Cam fishes the near shore of the pond pretty much every time he gets out of the car at my parents house. He's done extremely well catching Bluegill, Bass, and the occasional turtle (all by himself). So today was a treat for him, actually getting to go out in the "lake".

We arrived, got the boat loaded and had our lines in by 1715. Fifty feet down the bank and our first Bass was on, our largest fish of the afternoon! Easing along the banks casting plastic worms and fly fishing popping bugs, we racked up a nice mess of fish in the time we had to work with. Cam caught a small bass of his own (much smaller than the 4lb one he caught last weekend); and we shared the 7-8 bluegill that we caught on fly. Finally Uncle Aaron was sent to drive around the pond and tell us dinner was ready.

We fished our way back to the house, just the two of us, father and son, on Fathers Day; exactly the way I wanted to see the sun dip below the trees.

Back at the house we created quite a stir as everyone, mom and sister, aunts and uncle, grand-parents, and even Cams great-grand-mother came out to admire our catch. We pulled the fish out, one by one, and let everyone take a look and let the baby feel the "fiss", as she puts it. As we removed them from the bucket and took a quick pic, we released them into the smaller portion of the pond behind my parents house.





















The kids got a kick out of seeing the fish swim out of my hands, all of us leaning way out to see the little fiss off.

Inside for a great BBQ rib dinner with enough food to put you on the couch for the rest of the night!!! It cannot get any better than this!

16 June 2007

Met Kurt, his brother, Sam, and Adam at Galvez ramp at 0615. We spoke last night regarding what these three wanted to target today. I told them of my adventure yesterday, and plugged the snapper fishing. That's when they told me that they had fished with Capt. Bobby Walker the day before and weren't really interested in another snapper trip; they wanted to try the Speckled Trout fishing.

My trout fishing lately has consisted of mostly short fish and those have been far between, so I suggested that we could fish trout early, then ease out of the Pass and fish for Redfish and Mackerel. We settled on this plan and were headed for the grass flats of Big Lagoon.

Our first drift produced some nice blow-ups and swirls but no hook-ups. Still, I was glad to see some fish hanging around and somewhat interested in feeding. We switched some baits around and in the next three drifts we boated two nice 16-17" trout. We missed quite a few fish during that time and pulled the hook on a couple more...I'm ecstatic by now, morning's looking up.

I had set a pinfish trap the night before in preparation for today. Once the tide slowed at our first stop, and the fish slowed with it, we made the short run to pick up the trap. With 2 dozen 2-3" "Pinners" in the well we shot over to another section of grass to try it again. The deeper grass seemed to be the spot; and Kurt found a hungry 4lb trout lounging in 6-8' of water. Wow, that's officially the BIGGEST Speck to be caught on the new boat!!! Needless to say, I'm thrilled. Adam and Sam also found trout in the deep grass; Adams a nice 16"er and Sams an 8"dink.

In what seemed like an hour, the clock had sped to 0930. I told the guys if they wanted to try big Redfish on light tackle we'd have to leave soon. All but Kurt agreed (he wanted another shot at a big Trout), and off to the Pass we went.

The Redfishing in the Pass has been slowing for a few weeks now but today it was right on time! We baited our lines and on the first drop, Adam, hooks a perfect 26 3/4" fish...love it when a plan comes together! On three successive drifts we hooked and boated three more Bull Reds (all over 30"). Just after that the clock caught up with us, and it was time for me to return the boys to their truck for the long haul back to Montgomery.

Cooler Count: 4 Speckled Trout, 1 Redfish

(Kurt, Adam, and Sam with part of the days catch)

What a successful day with great guys,

Thanks again, Kurt , Sam, and Adam for a morning I won't soon forget.

Capt Josh

15 June 2007

I decided late last night to fish today, do a little scouting and check a few snapper holes. The weather forecast looked perfect; so I started making a few phone calls to find someone to go. I called all my usual suspects and got the usual answers (I gotta work, wish you'd a called an hour ago, my brothers-wife's-sisters-nephew might want to) Between all this and getting to boat ready, it got late real quick. At around 2330, I decided I'd take my lifelong friends Me and Myself, and off to bed I went.

The alarm went off around 0545 (snooze), 0600(snooze), 0615(snooze),0630(snooze), 0645...all right, all right all ready!!! Up I got, jumped into the truck and to the ramp by 0715.

Headed for the Gulf, I stopped to get some livies in the Pass, and took the 8 mile ride to the snapper hole in about 12.5 minutes. My first two stops were short snapper, but the next three were holding good numbers of Snappers and Triggerfish. I was using my normal inshore tackle for these fish (12lb-20lb combos) with live threadfin herring and cut squid. I lost a LOT of fish to the wreck, but I had a blast, and the one's that I landed were that much more rewarding.

Cooler count for the day:
2 legal snapper
1 triggerfish
6 or so hours of peace and quiet

10 June 2007

Dad called for Cam at around 0545, man was that early! He asked if Cam would like to join him for a Grandfather/ Grandson morning of fishing with Dad's lifelong friend Terry and his grandson. Cam was rarin' to go by the time dad showed; they hopped in the truck and were off!

I had a nice morning just hangin' around the house with my girls, lazing on the couch finishing a few chores. I ran to the store for life's staples (bread, milk, and eggs) and arrived home to a calamity.

Dad answers MY door with a big wide grin and asks me to accompany himn to his cooler. Boy was I in for a surprize!! Crammed into Dad's little playmate cooler was this 6lb slab of Tripletail; which my 5yr old son hooked and landed all on his own on 12lb tackle.

How awesome is that?!?!?!?

Out comes Cam hootin' and hollerin' and jumping up and down, "SeewhatIcaught?!?SeewhatIcaught?!?allbymyself?!?" After I got him to calm down, and slow down, I finally got the whole story from him. How Paw-Paw threw the bait out and handed him the rod. Then how he jigged the shrimp. Then how he let him eat it. Then how he set the hook. Then how he fought the fish. Then how Mr. Terry netted the fish. Then how they all high-fived.

Man, he was so excited, and so was I. I'm so proud of that little dude!

Look out fish, Cam's commin'

09 June 2007

I got a call from Capt. Dusty Powers (D.P.) last night asking if I wanted to join him and our good friend Tim Land for an adventure today. I graciously accepted and we decided to sleep in just a little and that Capt. D.P. would call me when he left the house in the morning. Well ... my phone rang at around 0830 and after stopping for fuel and bait we met at the ramp a little after 0915. We launched Capt. D.P.'s beautiful 24' Shearwater, a boat I have been fortunate to fish on a few times before, and were underway.

Our first stop was minutes from the ramp. We eased along some docks, pitching GLUP shrimp on jigs, and boated two nice (but short) Redfish. We really wanted to scout today, so we left to check some other "fishy" areas. The shrimp in the well were big enough to put on the grill so all we needed was a few Pinfish and Bull Minnows to top off the well. We made a quick stop at one of our bait holes and within 6 throws of the net Tim had managed 5-6 dozen baits. To the Gulf for us!!

One quick drop on an inshore reef netted two Ladyfish and a short Gag Grouper. South-bound again. We fished pretty hard in the gulf, checking wreck after wreck to find the ones that held the best/most fish. On many spots our baits were inundated with green algae; and a few we looked for we just could not find. The days equipment consisted of 10#-17# tackle, perfect for lots of fun and a few lost fish. We caught a bunch of short Red Snapper (and a few legal ones too!!!), Two nice Lane Snappers, some Triggerfish, a Remora or two, and Tim lost what was probably a BIG Grouper on 15lb tackle. Tim pulled this fish out of the structure twice, but after getting in a third time the fish refused to come back out.

The clouds over the beach began to get very dark and a thunder clap or two told us it was time to get home.

Dusty and I remarked all day on how nice it was not having to do all the things we usually have to for our customers; such as bait other peoples hooks, re-rig other peoples lines, and worry that the fish won't cooperate. As Capt. D. P. and Tim drove away I realized that the nicest thing I didn't have to do all day was CLEAN THE BOAT.

This was a great day with great friends. Thank you D. P. and T Land for an awesome trip. I hope we can do it again soon (especially if i don't have to clean the boat again!!!)

02 June 2007 Fishin' Chix PRB Pensacola

Pink Rubber Boots Pensacola 2007

The alarm sounded much earlier than normal this morning, 0400. We were scheduled to meet our fisherWOMEN between 0530-0545. After arriving at The Fish House (our host for this tourney), Carla, Jennifer, Cindy, and Jackie load their gear on board and prepared for today's adventure.

Once everyone of the 80+ anglers had found their boats and were ready Capt. Wes gave us the go ahead and we began making our way into Pensacola Bay for the 5 hour tourney.

Our first stop was the west side of Gulf Breeze, where Mom and I found fish on Friday. Yesterdays east wind, which had prevailed for the previous week, was replaced this morning with a stiff northerly breeze. None of the spots from yesterday would be the same today. Our first drift yielded no results, and our second saw Carla frantically trying to get the fish following her bait to eat it, without success. Knowing the chances were slim for repeating the bites from the day before we decided to move on in search of more "friendly" fish.

Next stop, Quietwater Beach. Although I didn't scout over here earlier in the week this particular flat is a favorite of mine (and a few other people by the looks of it). It didn't take us long to locate the feeding masses of Bluefish and Ladyfish in the area. Every one of my anglers boated a tournament fish on the first drift!! So we continued to drift the flat repeatedly looking for the elusive Speckled Trout. I asked (very nicely) for 1 ... just 1 legal Trout. The next cast and Jackie bows up on a nice fish, one that's fighting different from the rest, and I smile. "There's the Trout.", I tell them. Minutes later the head and shoulders of a 3+ pound trout break the waters surface feet from the boat, the fish shakes it's head and ...you guessed it...out comes the hook. Disappointed, I turn to Jackie to compliment her on a great job, nothing she could have done, just works out that way sometimes.

Another drift or two (clock ticking non-stop) and we decide to change tactics and hunt for our flounder. Off we go to the spot I got a report on yesterday. Pulled up, set the anchor, and tossed out 4 beautiful, live bull minnows.

Once again it wasn't long until the shrieking giggle erupts to the arch of a bent rod. I'm excited, maybe this won't take long and we can move on. Then, up from the bottom comes what is not a Flounder, but a Sea Robin. Super cool looking fish with little hand-like fins it uses to "walk" over the bottom in search of food to scavenge. None of the girls had seen one before so I took a few minutes to show the fish to them before releasing it.

The Flounder that were here yesterday just didn't stick around long enough for our tournament so we moved off to try improving our Bluefish and Ladyfish. I made my way to the place Mom and I really got into them on Friday. Upon arriving I noticed something much different today... no birds, no bait, and no fish. It wasn't 15 min and we were off to try something new.

Towards the pass we went. Once in the lee of NAS Pensacola we slowed and I showed the women one of my "go to " places that I can ALMOST always find fish. We baited up and dropped our offering to the depths. Jackie hooks up immediately and lands the smallest shark I've ever put on this boat!

Moments after resetting we boat a small gag grouper, then we have a few chaotic minutes as everyone starts hooking up with Ladyfish. The chaos subsides and we again reset our drift. This time it's Carla's turn, and she brings up our one and only Flounder of the day! I told her that she was my hero and that we only have a few minutes left to fish, so get back to it!

Those final minutes didn't improve our catch. I managed to clear the deck and have everything stowed by time for lines out and we made a beeline for the scales.

We arrived back at The Fish House way before the 1215 deadline and prepared to weigh our catch. After all was said and done, and all of our fish were knocked from the leader board (missing 3rd place Flounder by .05lb, about 3/4 of an ounce) we settled in for the festivities of the after party.
The fish weighing done and the trophies handed out I headed for the ramp, then the house to finish my days work and spend some time with my family.

I had a great day hanging out with these FISHIN' CHIX and I guarantee you if there was a prize for the most fun had on board....we would have won hands down!!!

Big thanks to Carla, Jennifer, Cindy, and Jackie for today. I couldn't have hand picked a better crew. And big thanks to the Fishin' Chix for letting me be a continuing part of this, and other of their events (Thanks Claudia)

Until next time,

Capt Josh

01 June 2007 A day with my Mom!

My Mom and I met at my house at 0600 to do some scouting for the Fishin' Chix, Pink Rubber Boots Tournament tomorrow. We launched the boat at Navy Point ramp in search of the 7 target species; Speckled Trout, Redfish, Flounder, Ladyfish, Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, and King Mackerel.

We began with the Speckled Trout; casting soft plastic baits along rocky shorelines and open grass flats. Our first stop yielded no results, but our second stop was successful. I managed to catch a Trout that had to be a solid 10"-11". Unfortunately a solid 4" under the legal size limit. Not another Trout all morning after that though. While we were Trout fishing we had other opportunities at target species, seeing many schools of Ladyfish, Bluefish, and Spanish feeding a hundred yards or so further from shore.

Just a quick adjustment to the trolling motor and we were in casting range of these fish. We released a Spanish and a Bluefish or two in the short but exciting flurries of activity. After pulling the trolling motor and preparing to move on I noticed three men in a boat drifting just south of us. These men were making one hell of a racket, hooting and hollering with every twitch of a bait or movement of water behind it. All this commotion and excitement could only mean one thing...Capt Wes was in that boat!!!

As we eased within hearing distance it was obvious that they were having the time of their lives hooking Ladyfish only to have them jump and spit the hook, only to have another fish striking at it as soon as the first one was off. Wes and I exchanged pleasantries and the mornings findings then Mom and I pulled away with them still laughing over bent rods.

We moved in search of our target fish a few more times; never stopping without at least a bite and usually with a boated fish or two. Each stop consisted of covering a grass flat or pier for a drift or two, getting some bites and leaving the fish alone to wait till morning. I ran into a good friend of mine later who told a tale of Flounder at one of our favorite holes, so I elected not to pressure them any more today. I had been doing alright with the Redfish as you may have read previously, so I checked that off the list. Our final stop was to locate bigger Ladyfish and Bluefish.

The boat coasted towards Pickens Beach on the bay-side, and the fish erupted from all directions! There were pods of fish throwing white water everywhere and scores of birds diving among them. I saw one school that must have had 200+ fish in it. We casted and moved and casted and moved and by the end had released nearly a dozen nice Ladys and Blues.

I know I was supposed to leave the fish alone; find them and wait til morning, but we couldn't help ourselves. Mom and I had so much fun catching those fish at the end. If it hadn't slowed down and I came to my senses I really don't know how long we would have stayed there catching them. We stowed our equipment and were pulling into the ramp by 1130.

I dropped Mom off with a big hug and turned around to catch bait for tomorrows Tourney. Within 40 min I had caught around 9 dozen baits, cut my toe open on an oyster shell, returned to the ramp, loaded the boat and headed for the drug store for first aid supplies for the toe.

All in all a most successful and utterly awesome (mildly painful) day spent with my Mom, how great is that!!

28 May 2007

Met Mitch and his son David for a morning of father/son bonding over a little fishing. And thank God for the bonding, because there sure wasn't a lot of fishing to be had today!!

We started our morning getting live bait for the Redfish. Hoping to continue yesterdays success, we went to the Pass. The only real difference from yesterday was the wind...and LOTS of it!! We started our first drift and quickly landed two Catfish. I noticed a lot of algae comming up on our lines, much more than earlier in the week. It's usually a good indicator that you're keeping the bait near bottom, to come up with a little algae every now and then. But this was every drop! This slowed the fishing considerably, but I still felt confident that if we put our time in we would be rewarded with a nice Redfish. Well, by this time the sea state was starting to get to Mitch, and I really didn't want him to get sick, so we elected to return to Big Lagoon and try our luck trout fishing.

Being a holiday weekend the boats and jet skis were out in force. Running all over the flats and just generally making a day of poor conditions even worse. We gave it a valiant effort. At one time David asked me if I really was going to keep fishing until we put another fish in the boat. I told him he was darn tootin' I was going to stay!!!!!! Well, 30-45 min later Mitch, David and I all agreed that maybe it was time to hang it up and head for home, and we did.

The fishing was horrible, but the company was wonderful! I had such a great time hanging out with these guys today. We laughed and joked and carried on all morning. Pulling up to the ramp we exchanged handshakes, smiles and laughs and swore that next time'll be our day!